


hello, how are you, my darling today?

by missdulcerosea



Series: wonderful wednesdays, fluffy fridays [3]
Category: A Star Is Born (1937)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Future Fic, Light Angst, Not Canon Compliant, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, i finished the movie and now i'm sad, i want them to be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24065074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missdulcerosea/pseuds/missdulcerosea
Summary: The road to recovery is not an easy one.
Relationships: Norman Maine/Esther Blodgett | Vicki Lester
Series: wonderful wednesdays, fluffy fridays [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1731229
Kudos: 1





	hello, how are you, my darling today?

Norman has never liked early mornings.

He closes his eyes for as long as he can when he feels the sun creeping in through the window—they must have forgotten to close the curtains last night. Mornings are a reminder of last night’s mistakes, that he can’t walk through the haze of drink without hangovers when he wakes up after. So even though there’s time ahead of him he lies there on the bed, eyes closed.

Vicki—she’s most likely woken up before him, she likes early mornings—is there stroking at his face. Norman cracks open an eye to look up to her, illuminated in the bright sunlight and face masqueraded by short red curls hanging close to her cheeks. It’s peculiar, Norman thinks, that even after Vicki decided to fade out of the spotlight that she looks more radiant than ever. It’s a reminder of what he has. He’s gotten what he wanted, they both just have to work together to keep it.

“Good morning, Norman,” she says.

He pulls himself up to press a kiss to her forehead and slip his hand into hers. She has nice hands, he notes, delicate and precise and fitting perfectly with his. Though his mind is still hazy and throbs with the dull pain of a hangover, Norman can’t help but smile.

“Good morning, my dear.”

_My dear._ He never thought that he’d get to say those words to anyone, let alone someone like Vicki. But they have both tried their best at being careful and still try, even if they don’t always succeed. Norman thought that recovery would be like a mountain, a steady climb till he eventually reached the top. But instead it’s less straightforward than a mountain path: There are bumps and cracks down the road, some days he slips back, other days like this one it’s a little less difficult to make the climb up.

The road to recovery is not an easy one. But it’s not impossible, and what they both have—he and Vicki, because they _are_ trying, they’ve been talking to the doctors and they’ll eventually find a way—is a start. 

**Author's Note:**

> i KNOW a star is born has an important message that should not be dismissed, but i still can't help but wish that norman and vicki/esther got a happier ending :c but i suppose part of what makes the 1937 version sad is that people - especially the mentally ill or recovering alcoholics - had much less access to help compared to now (granted, even now things aren't perfect in terms of recovery, but still). i do think that maybe if circumstances had been a little kinder to norman and vicki, things could have gotten better.
> 
> thank you for reading this! please take care <3


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